Rooney himself stated it was established to counter the prominent militant NORAID (Irish Northern Aid Committee), which was routinely accused of using donations to purchase weapons for the IRA.
He stated it wasn't easy at first to persuade the American public already outraged at IRA atrocities to donate to the Funds: "[W]e often had to explain that we were not raising money for bombs.
[citation needed] On St. Patrick's Day 1987, The Ireland Fund and the American Irish Foundation, then led by Arthur William Bourn Vincent,[4] merged at a White House ceremony to form The American Ireland Fund.
[8][9][10][11][12] The Ireland Funds, through The American Ireland Fund, formed a network of fundraising chapters in additional cities across the United States as including Boston, Chicago, Palm Beach, New York City, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Washington D.C.[1] In parallel with expansion within the USA, Ireland Funds were established in a range of countries, from Ireland itself to Canada (launched 1978), Australia (launched 1987), Great Britain (1988), France (1990), New Zealand (1992), Germany (1993), Japan (1993), Monaco (1998), China (1998) and Singapore (2009).
[1] The Ireland Funds have their world headquarters in Boston, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Toronto, Dublin, London and Sydney.